Railroad track-scale assembly



March-23, 1954 A L. THURSTON 2,673,082

RAILROAD TRACK-SCALE ASSEMBLY Filed June 29, 1951 2 Sheets-Shet 1 ATTORNEY fait Patented Mar. 23, `1954 Arthur L. Thurston, .Wantagh,`l N. Y., `assigner-toA Cox andl Stevens Aircraft. Corporation,` a= corporation ci' N ew- York Application June 29; 1951, SerialNm 234,',38Ui

4 claims (c1. 265-71) My invention relates.I to arailroad:track-scale" assemblyI comprising a weighing-unit or subassembly, alweighe'bridge, and a pit' across whichv the Weigh-bridge is adaptedlto extend.

Atthe present timeit is the almost universal practice to build a track-scale with a so-called rigid. deck'. supported by beams which extend crosswise. the pit and which are supported at their'Y endsionthe vpit side walls. Itis also custernaryI to make the pit approximately ten feet wide and. proportionately deep so as to provide ample room within' the pit to manipulate the usual knife-edges and .levers of the conventional balancescales.` Th'eweigh-bridge of scales thus characterized are usuallyy constructed of two main girders running lengthwise the scale below' the decl; beams, with. so-called rail-chairs-risingftliru' openingsinthe deck, and'to which said chairslthe'live-rails of the weigh-bridge are directly fastened; the-railchairsbeing appropriately tied' togetherA to prevent ther rails from spreading. In addition; the weigh-bridge girders arealso'tiedtogethery by cross or diagonal bracing-and since the vertical distance between the' rails and the check-rods whichholdthe' weighbridge horizontally in place is considerable, the diagonalbracingV is of necessity somewhat elabo-v rate and: complex. Moreover, since the rails, rait-chairs and' Weigh-bridge are movable relatively' to the deck, clearance holeshave to be' formed in' the latter,` with dirt andrain guards therearound-as wel-las alongthe'rails', to prevent Waterfand dirt from entering into the pit. The reason for a rigidv as distinct from a non-rigid deck is that it is customaryto equipthe weighbridge with both `live andfdeadrails (usually parallel and spacedapart about sixteen inches) onto oneor the other of .which the rolling stock may be switched. With knife-edge scales heavy rolling stocksuch as locomotives, if run onto the live rails, might very wellcause damage to or blunting' ofthe knife-edges of the scales, with the result` thatonly carstobe weighed are'presently run. over the live rails-locomotives and heavy cars (not required to beweighed!) being switched' onto the :dead rails.'

An object of the present invention. is to sim-l plify the constructionof theweigh-bridgev as well as the pit across which the weigh-bridge extends;

A further `object` of Y thel inventionis to distrib-A ut'e to theV best advantage thestructural compo-- nents oi? the weighx-bridge consistent with the loads required to' be imposed thereon.

' A furtherv objectof the'inventionis to soconstruct then weighbridge andJ pit` as "to" 'abdn'iit of 2. the. use r of so-cal-ledl strain 1 gauge weighing' cellsl which are small, liave'frelatively stationaryf parts; andcan carry an appreciablerfoverload (at leasti three times their. ratedicapacityl Without-damage or loss of accuracy.l

A' still further object of the'. invention. istafsoi construct the track-scale" assembly? asl to admit; of the complete. elimination' of. deadr-rails, an'dl what is .more important, the.. completeelirninationf also of' a` separate weighsbridgedeck;`

Other objects and adva'nta'g'esofJ the'imiirovedf4 assembly include the elimination4 ofi numerousmiscellaneous partsv presently required in.- alv weighing operation; the better? distributionfoffthe metal inf-the weigh-brdgefstructureto more eco-4 nomically carry thelloa'ds torwhichitfissubjectedi in use; the ease ofv acce`ss-to1the pit thru multiple'- man-holes; the provision ofg-r'oovesin the deckvb portion of theweigh-bridgeto locate andalign the live weigh-bridge rails;` the machin'in'gof 'the ends of the weigh-bridgef-framefmembers; to oblv tain perfect alignment when* more than' onel frame'memberl isv required; th'e'utilization; on a' grade', of an assembly in'whichsthemeasuring 1 forces may under all operating conditionsy be maintained perpendicular tothe rails; the use* of adjustable struts between f' the weigliirig`` cells' and*- the weigh-bridge structure: and the elimination of auxiliary dirtand rain' guards.

Stillffurther objects and" advantages of tlfiefinf vention will be hereinafter' more-full3,fA setforth';

In the drawings; wherein lik'ereference cha-rf act'eis denote like yor corresponding parts:

Fig. 1 is a planviewofmyfimproved track# scale assembly, partly broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation ofI that portion of'tlie assembly illustrated in Fig'. '1;

Fig. 3 isa-longitudinal sectional'viewof'the assembly of Fig'. l. taken onthe line-3"'-3;

Fig. 4 isa transverse*sectionalview, takenon` the line` ffl-4 of Fig.- 3;

Fig: 5 isa similar View, taken'on the lined-5J Fig. 6 is a detail View, partly in sectionand" partlyy in elevation, of the'rightl-hand' endposition of the structure 'shown in Fig; 2; and

Fig. 7 isa detail view', in''side` elevation; ofthatl portion' of the weigh-bridge structure adjacent' to the abutting ends of aligned. weighebridge sec-v This is usually done by mounting the weighbridge and rails on a, grade, and allowing the rolling-stock to roll over the weigh-bridge by gravity. The grade may be anywhere between .8% and 3%. For this character of weighing it is essential that the top of the rail be straight and true to whatever grade is used, as irregularities in the rail will cause the rolling-stock to bounce or rock. With conventional scales so-called motion-weighing cannot be accomplished unless some means is provided for adjusting the railchairs to true up the rails and then pour type metal or the like between the bottom of the railchairs and the supporting girders to maintain the desired trueness. With the present invention the desired end result may be obtained notwithstanding that many of the heretofore used parts are dispensed with and the unit structure greatly simplified.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration the track-scale is made up of two cast steel frames I adapted to be bolted together as at II to form a sigle weigh-bridge which is supported on six weighing cells-two at each end of each section. The length and number of frames however may be varied depending on the desired length of weigh-bridge, that is, it could be a single frame supported on four weighing cells, or three frames supported on eight cells. While cast steel frames are preferable, the frames can, of course, be made up of welded structural steel members, and accomplish the same purpose. Regardless of the number of frame sections employed, it is desirable, where the sections abut and are fastened together, that the abutting ends have a relatively shallow surface contact so that little, if any, resistance to bending occurs. In other words, provide at the section-ends what may be termed a semi-articulated joint so that each frame will act as an independent beam and not like a continuous beam over the multiple-section support. The reason for this is that it minimizes any tendency of the weigh-bridge to lift off the supports adjacent to the bay on which the load is applied.

The frame sections I0 are all alike except for machining details. Each consists essentially of two girders I3, a deck portion I4, suitable dirt and rain guards I5, cross-webbing I6, and supporting pads or columns I1, one at each end of the four corners of each frame. The girders I3 are preferably tapered so that the maximum depth and strength thereof is located at the center of the span of each section where the bending moment is a maximum. The deck portion I4 between the rail supporting pads I'I serves also as a rigid bracing means to carry any and all horizontal side loads, and the man-hole openings I8 formed in the deck serve not only to lighten the structure without destroying any of its rigidity, but also, as the name implies, to provide entrance and exit openings leading to and from the pit I 9 over which the weigh-bridge is iitted.

To help stiffen the frame sections, grooves 20 are formed in the deck I4 and have seated therein the bases of the rails 2I which may be welded or otherwise held in place. Not only do such grooves 20 locate the rails 2I, but in addition they insure perfect alignment of the rail-heads both vertically and horizontally. Such an arrangement has a further advantage in that the metal of the weigh-bridge is distributed properly i. e., close to the rails where the loads (in a weighing position) are applied, to forman exceedingly stiff and rigid structure, which assures that the rails will be straight and true i. e., an essential to so-called motion weighing. Such a structure combines in one simple unit all o! the various parts which go to make up an acceptable track-scale, and. in addition, admits of easy access to all parts of the pit. Man-hole covers 22, which are nothing more nor less than circular discs, iianged down at their edges, prevent rain and dirt from entering the pit. Moreover, as this type scale will undoubtely be used on a grade, water cannot collect in the area between the rails since most, if not all, will drain oi due to the grade.

Adjustable struts 23, bearing at one end on weighing cells 24 (strain gauge), and at their opposite ends on the supporting pads or abutments I'I, support the entire weight of the weighbrldge structure. Collectively the struts 23 providing a support for the weigh-bridge will allow of expansion or contraction of the latter due to temperature changes, without putting any appreciable side load on the cells. Note in this connection that the strut-ends are rounded as at 25, In addition, the weigh-bridge is held in place horizontally in the pit by flexure type horizontal checks 25 (two longitudinal and four transverse), which allow free movement of the weigh-bridge vertically and hold it rigid against horizontal movement. This type of check, which acts both in tension and compression. is more or less common to the better types of railroad scales.

As previously mentioned the width of the pit I9 can be reduced from the usual ten feet to a little under seven feet at the bottom, and taper to a little over five feet at the top. 'I'he ends of the pit can be located so that the pit is slightly longer than the live rails. This results in a simple rectangular pit with from four to eight piers 21 on which the scales rest. The size of the pit is largely governed by the required bearings 28 under the cells 24 which in the embodiment illustrated should be about sixteen inches square to properly distribute the load over the tops of the concrete piers.

Scales thus characterized require little or no servicing, other than an occasional replacement of a defective strain-gauge cell; are capable of accurately weighing the heaviest of rolling-stock without damage to the scales, whether in motion or standing still; require no so-called deadrails onto which it has heretofore been customary to switch the heavier rolling-stock; and can be manufactured and sold at prices much lower than competing units.

While the invention has been described with respect to a certain and particular preferred example which, by test, has given eminently satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the annexed claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a. railroad track-scale assembly; a weighbridge including a deck portion adapted to provide a cover for the pit within which the loadmeasuring instrumentalities of the track-scale are adapted to be tted and securely held.

2. In a railroad track-scale assembly, a weighbridge including one or more frame sections of girder-like construction, each frame section including spaced side-members, a substantially horizontally at top member extending from one to the other of said side members to provide a cover for the pit within which the weigh-bridge is adapted to be housed, and a plurality of transversely extending cross-brace members connected at their opposite ends to said side members, the components of each said frame section being movable as a unit structure upon the imposition of a load thereon in a weighing operation.

3. In a. railroad track-scale assembly, a weighbridge including one or more frame sections of girder-like construction, each frame section including spaced side members, a substantially horizontally flat top member extending from one to the other of said side members, and a plurality of transversely extending cross-brace members connected at their opposite ends to said side members and along their upper edges to said top member, said substantially horizontally flat top member providing for the Weigh-bridge a deck portion to which the live rails of the weigh-bridge assembly are fastened.

4. In a railroad track-scale assembly, a Weighbridge including one or more substantially rectangular frame sections of girder-like construc- 6 tion, each frame section having formed integrally therewith and at each of its respective four corners an abutment member against which, in a weighing operation, the weighing load is applied, each frame section comprising, in addition to said abutment members, spaced side members, a substantially horizontally iiat top member and a plurality of transversely extending cross-brace members, said top member being extended from one to the other of the side members, and said cross-brace members being joined at their upper edges to said top member and connected at their ends to said side members, and said top member providing for the Weigh-bridge a substantially horizontally at surface on which the live-rails of the weigh-bridge are adapted to be laid, as well as a cover for the pit Within which the weigh-bridge is housed.

ARTHUR L. THURSTON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 783,667 Barclay Feb. 28, 1905 1,210,689 Pfeiffer Jan. 2, 1917 1,352,441 Epright et al Sept. 14, 1920 1,735,973 Northeld et al. Nov. 19, 1929 

